Influencers: how to declare your work as a content creator in France

Today in France, there are an estimated 150,000 active influencers on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook (according to a Reech study published in January 2024 [in French]).

If you’re thinking of joining their ranks, the first question you’re likely to struggle with might be: what type of business should I create?

From SASU to SAS, there are tons of French acronyms you’ll need to wrap your head around… While a self-employed status can be perfect for starting out, you should always consider other legal statuses. Curious about which mandatory steps you should follow? Maybe you want to know about regulations around influencer marketing?

Let's check out the legal side of this rapidly evolving profession.

Originally, content creators (bloggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, or TikTokers) usually shared content with their community purely out of passion and without being paid. While this still exists, content creation has become much more professional as social media has grown and evolved.

Much of the market today revolves around influencers, who use their established social media presence to promote brands and sway their followers' choices.

While both can overlap, content creators focus on creating, and influencers focus on engaging and promoting. For the purpose of this article, we'll use the two terms interchangeably.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to becoming an influencer.

Influencers share their tastes, lifestyle, tips, and personality online. They recommend products, services, and experiences they've tried. They can specialize in a niche (video games, beauty, pets, travel, parenting, etc.) or be lifestyle influencers with a more general scope.

Hand-in-hand with companies, influencers often promote a brand’s activity, service, event, or product through targeted content - with photos, text, videos, and more. To learn more, check out this article on how to build an effective communication strategy for your company.

An influencer can monetize various tasks by engaging their audience:

• Testing products on their social media for a brand.
• Writing an article or creating a video on their blog for a brand.
• Attending a special event and sharing the experience on their platforms.
• Performing an account “takeover”, posting on behalf of any given brand.
• Posting a product placement amongst regular lifestyle content on social media.

In France, when deciding to become a content creator, the first instinct might be to choose the self-employed (micro-entrepreneur) status. With this status, your business is quickly registered, and you get a SIRET number in a few clicks. If you decide to create another legal entity, we’ve compiled all the info you need to get started.

Your social charges (pension contributions, healthcare, training funds, etc.) depend on the legal entity you’ve chosen.

If you’re the majority manager of a SARL or the sole partner of an EURL, can choose whether to be taxed through the personal income tax system (Impôt sur le Revenu), where there’s no distinction between the profits of the business and the income of the owner. Alternatively, it can opt to pay a company tax on profits (Impôt sur les Sociétés). If you choose the latter, the owner’s remuneration is a deductible expense from company profits.

• SARL stands for Société à Responsabilité Limitée, which translates to limited liability company. It’s a popular legal structure for businesses in France.

• The EURL, or Entreprise Unipersonnelle à Responsabilité Limitée, is a type of limited liability company in France that’s owned and operated by a single individual. It operates under the same legal rules as a standard limited liability company (SARL), but is specifically designed for sole proprietors, offering them the benefits of limited financial liability and the ability to easily transition to a SARL if additional associates join.

When the contract between a brand and an influencer is considered a service, your renumeration isn’t considered a salary. This happens when a brand doesn’t require influencers to be physically present in their offices and the payment depends on the services rendered (engagement rate, number of posts, etc.).

In many cases, the income from creating content for a brand can be considered a salary, but post-production income (i.e. ad revenue) falls under a different legal and tax regime: non-commercial profits (bénéfices non commerciaux/ BNC). That’s why most influencers in France decide to become micro-entrepreneurs.

As micro-entrepreneurs, self-employed influencers invoice their services and have to periodically declare them to Urssaf. This organization handles the collection of social security contributions for company creators and their employees, ensuring they’re covered by France's social welfare system.

The micro-enterprise legal status is most suitable for beginner influencers or those who see this work as a “side hustle”.

The main benefit of this status is its simplicity. Registration is easy and quick. Income declarations are straightforward. France’s micro-entrepreneur structure is fiscally transparent; influencers report their income on a tax return, and they’re taxed at a progressive income tax rate. Here’s a simple breakdown:

1. Standard Corporate Tax Rate: Most companies pay a standard tax rate of 25%.

1. Reduced Rate for SMEs:
   • If your company has a turnover of less than €10 million, you can get a reduced tax rate of 15% on the first €38,120 of your profits.
   • For profits above €38,120, the standard rate of 25% applies.

1. Additional Contributions:
   • If your company’s profits are over €500,000, there’s an extra social contribution of 3.3% on your corporate tax. This means higher profits will have a slightly higher tax.

Influencers typically pay about a quarter of their income in contributions and taxes.

Influencers with a lot of followers open the door to working with major brands, so they often exceed the income threshold for micro-entrepreneurs. This can lead to significant income tax.

In this case, influencers might consider creating a company: a limited liability individual enterprise (entreprise individuelle à responsabilité limitée/ EIRL) or a one-person limited liability company (entreprise unipersonnelle à responsabilité limitée/ EURL). You can then benefit from the corporate tax regime. Professional content creators can also create a one-person simplified joint-stock company (Société par actions simplifiée unipersonnelle/ SASU) to file your income taxes as an employee - enjoying this system’s social protections, retirement contributions, and dividends.

Creating an entreprise individuelle (sole proprietorship) is another simple way to become self-employed in France. The paperwork’s relatively easy but be careful - you’re held responsible for business debts with your personal money and belongings.

Creating a company like an EURL, EIRL, or SASU is a more complex but protective status. It’s for content creators who want to make influencing their full-time job and need to invest or hire.

The choice of legal status affects taxes, management, and social protection. For example:

• SASU: simplifies company management. The content creator is an employee-manager, affiliated with the employee social regime, offering better social protection (excluding unemployment insurance) but with higher social contributions (around 60% of the net salary).

• EURL: affiliates content creators (considered the company’s manager) with the independent workers' social regime. Social contributions are based on salary, at around 40%.

Still unsure of which approach best suits your needs? Check out our other blog posts to decide between micro-enterprise and individual enterprise or between SASU and self-employed status (article in French).

• Employment contracts
  • An influencer can sometimes be hired for temporary contracts. An employment contract is more complex to manage and changes the legal relationship. That being said, in some cases, it's the only way. For example, if you work as a model, French law requires an employment contract.
• Umbrella company
  • In an “umbrella company” structure, the company sends invoices on your behalf and pays you as a salary. This is more expensive because the company pays your salary charges and takes a commission, but French residents can get the comfort of a CDI (plus associated benefits).
• Entrepreneur employed by a CAE
  • Activity and employment cooperatives are less known but a good alternative to self-employment and company creation. It’s like payroll portage, but the employee entrepreneur status is now official with the Social and Solidarity Economy (ESS) law.

To really take the reins when it comes to maximizing your payout, here’s our advice on optimizing your compensation.

In France, a recently implemented law aims to better regulate commercial influencing and combat influencer manipulation on social media, intending to protect consumers by:

• creating a legal definition for commercial influencers, requiring them to follow advertising rules. For example, influencers are obliged to inform their audience about promotional content (e.g., "ad" or “advertisement” should clearly appear under the image or video),

• regulating influencer agencies, requiring a contract between the agency and the influencer,

• creating an influencer “code of conduct,”

• requiring disclosure of filters or retouching in videos or photos,

• banning the promotion of health-endangering acts or medications, nicotine, and therapeutic abstention,

• strengthening regulations for dropshipping (selling products online, but having a third party ship them directly to your customers),

• controlling children's images by limiting exposure of minor influencers and children appearing in sponsored posts. If the child is 16-18, their work must be under a contract. If they’re under 16, paid appearances require individual authorization or approval from DREETS (French regional offices of economic development, employment, labor, and social affairs). If videos are for profit, under-16s must also have a work contract.

The French Intellectual Property Code protects authors' rights on all intellectual work, regardless of genre, form, merit, or purpose (Article L112-1). Influencers can’t use others' work without permission in their promotional activities online. Otherwise, they risk counterfeiting charges.

Influencers must also avoid defaming competitors or using another influencer's reputation to promote products and services. Engaging in these practices could invoke Article 1240 of the French Civil Code.

The activity of commercial influencing and influencer-focused talent agents is now included in French law. This gives legal recognition to this profession and helps clarify the rules that apply to it.

In France, influencers can't promote alcohol abuse, certain financial products, sports betting, medical/cosmetic surgery, specific health-related interventions, nicotine, therapeutic abstention (advising to stop or replace treatment), or marketing wild animals.

The influencer profession is open to everyone, meaning you don’t need a diploma, certification, or over three years of experience to become a self-employed content creator. If you’re a woman considering this career path, look into grants for female entrepreneurs (article in French).

Once a brand, company, or organization pays you for creating content (photos, videos, social media posts, etc.), you must declare it, starting from the first euro earned. If you choose self-employment, Qonto's team is here to support you in creating and managing your business. Ready to start? Work with us in establishing your company.